BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Ever since Donte Jackson ran an electronically-timed 10.42 100-meters at the Louisiana state track meet in May, he's drawn extra attention whenever it's been time to run a sprint.

"People gather around," whenever it's time to race, said the athlete from Riverdale High in the New Orleans suburb of Jefferson. "So this time, I had to let everybody know that I was pulling back a little bit."

By "pulling back," at the Opening's SPARQ combine, Jackson ran "just" a 4.4 40-yard dash. It wasn't the best possible time for Jackson, who said he is nursing an injury suffered in his high school's spring game, shortly after the state track meet.

"I'm still messing around with a nagging ankle injury," sad Jackson, who said his SPARQ score was "about 103," well below what he might have scored if he were healthy. Some thought he could contend for the SPARQ national title won by Kirk Merritt. "It wasn't my best day."

It's a bit of a disappointing score for Jackson, who earned an invitation to The Opening despite not participating in any of the regional Nike SPARQ combines.

But the combine part of the camp also wasn't his priority. Jackson, who is playing cornerback at The Opening, said his focus has been on the football skills part of the camp as opposed to the combine testing.

"I had to pull back off the trigger a bit," he said, "so I could make sure I'm healthy for stuff like (practice) and 7-on-7."

As a cornerback, Jackson, who plays some in the secondary for his high school team, wouldn't say he has a lot to learn, so much as "getting accustomed to it."

"I do have an instinct for it," he said. "I have an instinct to know where the receiver is going because I play receiver (at Riverdale). I have an instinct, but I just don't trust it enough."

He said once he learns to trust his instincts, "I'll do great" as a corner, but for now, he said he's embracing the sometimes shunned title as an "athlete." The 4-star prospect, ranked No. 283 in the ESPN 300 as a running back, isn't allowing himself to be defined by a position yet.

"I think of myself as an athlete," said Jackson, who has Oregon, Georgia and LSU at the top of a fast-growing list of schools recruiting him. "I think of myself as a game changer, a playmaker."